You Have To Win
by JellyBeeBee
Summary: Primrose Everdeen still hasn't gotten over the fact that her big sister, Katniss accidentally committed suicide on live television with her lover Peeta. Neither can the Capitol, in fact that have something very special planned for Prim and the rest of Panem..
1. Chapter 1

I stir my spoon around and around in my bowl of squirrel stew, it was plenty cold, maybe more than necessary but I wasn't exactly hungry. Neither was my mother who sat in a corner in her rocking chair staring blankly at the wall. Normally I would have dragged her out of the chair and asked her to eat something but tonight wasn't just a normal night. Tonight was the night before the reaping of the 75th Hunger Games, in other words the Third Quarter Quell. Every Quarter Quell the Capitol makes a twist to the games that usually makes the games much more difficult for everyone. No one knows what the Capitol could be planning so it's scary for everyone.

My mother hasn't been the same since Katniss' death, no one has. The citizen's were shocked, the Captiol was furious and that's what makes this year's Reaping even more dreadful. I look over to my mother who is still staring at the wall with that same sad and far away look in her eyes. Her lips move inaudibly but I can read her lips, "Katniss...Katniss...Come back. I'm sorry."

A tear falls into my stew and I quickly wipe the rest away before they fall. I miss Katniss much more than anyone could imagine. She was the one who took care of me. The one I could count on for everything and I couldn't believe she was no longer here/ But I know she's somewhere with Peeta and Dad looking down on me and smiling. I closed my eyes and saw Katniss's smile, a smile that hardly came out around anyone else but me. Then the song she used to sing to me started to flow through me.

_Deep in the meadow, under the willow_

_A bed of grass, a soft green pillow_

_Lay down your head, and close your sleepy eyes_

_And when again they open, the sun will rise._

_Here it s safe, here it s warm_

_Here the daisies guard you from every harm_

_Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true_

_Here is the place where I love you._

More tears fell before I could stop them and I let out a sob, "Oh Katniss I wish you were here. I miss you so much."

As if on cue, the Capitol's Anthem began to play on our small little television and President Snow appeared after the emblem.

"In honor of the Quarter Quell, the president has a very important announcement to make," A voice from behind the camera said. President Snow cleared his throat and his dark piercing eyes stared at the camera. However they seemed to be staring straight at me, if looks could kill I would most certainly be far from dead. I knew President Snow couldn't see me but I looked away from the television anyway.

On the twenty-fifth anniversary, as a reminder to the rebels that their children were dying because of their choice to initiate violence, every district was made to hold an election and vote on the tributes who would represent it.

On the fiftieth anniversary, the president says, as a reminder that two rebels died for each Capitol citizen, every district was required to send twice as many tributes.

Here it comes, what has the Capitol got planned for us this time. Whatever it was, it wouldn't be pleasant.

And now we honor our third Quarter Quell, says the President.

A little boy in all white steps up to President Snow holding a white box and opening it in the process. The President pulls out an envelope marked with a number 75 in black numbering and opens the flap. He then pulls out a small square piece or paper and without skipping a beat her reads aloud for the waiting citizens of Panem to hear, "On the seventy-fifth anniversary as a reminder to the rebels that you cannot trust everyone and then vengeance will occur the siblings of our last years Hunger Games will be reaped . Regardless if you are male or female. Volunteers will be prohibited. Happy Hunger Games.!" And then he's gone.

I drop the spoon I'm holding on the the ground and whatever food was left on it splatters everywhere. as I register this announce. I'm the only sibling of Katniss Everdeen. I will be going into the arena and there's nothing anyone can do to stop it.

My mother's head whips around to look at me, her eyes were wild with fear an filled to the brim with tears., "Prim...oh Prim not my Prim!"

She pushes the chair out of her way and pulls me into a bone crushing hug. I sob into her arms as she sobs too, "Prim...oh Prim no! No they can't!"

But they can. They have. It will happen. I'll never survive and that's why Katniss volunteered for me in the first place. I'm too small and fragile. I'll will be the first to die, I'm sure of it.


	2. Chapter 2

A girl kneels over a pile of sticks and stone, her long braided brown hair cascades down her back and she strikes stick against stick. She grunts in frustration as the fire won't build and she strikes faster. A boy lays beside her bandaged and bruised but otherwise sleeping quiet soundly. The sky is darkening as she struggles to start the fire, it will spark and then go out.

There's a rustle in the bushes that the girl doesn't take note of at first since she's too focused on trying to light the fire. Her fingers shake with the cold and she wipes her runny nose on the sleeve of her jacket. There's another rustle, this time louder. The boy rolls over in his sleep and I can see...it's Peeta. He opens his eyes and smiles at the girl stroking her cheek, "Are you sure you should be doing that now?"

The girl nods in response and Peeta sighs, "All I'm saying is you're making an awful lot of noise. Someone could come an-"

But he never gets his sentence out, for he is snatched into the bushes. He yells for the girl's name but I cannot hear what he says and his words are choked off with a gurgle.

The girl stands up abandoning the firewood, "Peeta!"

There is another rustling from the bushes and the girl turns so her face is in view, it's Katniss!

'Katniss! Run! Get out of there!' But I cannot say anything. I am just a bystander.

Katniss scrambles for her boy and arrow; trying to uncover it from the mess of leaves and twigs. Bounding footsteps come closer and closer.

Katniss!

She looks up as if she can hear me, "Prim?" She asks looking around, she takes a step forward reaching her hand out she opens her mouth and coughs once. Out of her mouth, a red liquid pours out like a rushing waterfall and she coughs again. She looks down and right in her chest,directly in her heart, rests a wooden spear. She looks up with bloody tears flowing from her eyes.

"Prim," She whispers once more before falling to the ground. Lifeless. Gone. Dead.

A scream erupts from me as if I can feel her pain too

I wake up screaming and screaming and expecting warm arms to comfort me. I stop the screaming and clutch my chest, breathing hard. I peer around the room and find my mother's bed empty. She's most likely preparing the bread that the baker gives us every week for breakfast this morning or something else to prepare for the Reaping. I swing my legs off the bed and onto the cold wooden floor. Hopping on my tippy-toes, I go into our small kitchen where sure enough my mother sits cutting up slices of fresh bread. The delicious smell of the fruit and nut loaf wafted from the kitchen and carried through out the house.

My mother looked up and smiled as warmly as she could muster at me, "Have a seat Primrose."

The chair squeaks loudly across the floor as I pull it out to sit. Mother sets down a small plate and a slice of the bread, on the bread she puts a slice of my goat's cheese.

"I'll go pick out your clothes, we want to look out best for the Reaping don't we?" And with that she turns and walks out the kitchen.

Then, I remember that I'm doomed to be in the Games today. My heart drops and the bread doesn't look as appetizing anymore. Though I still nibble on it, in hopes it would calm my nerves. Tears threaten to spill over but I force them back. Why me? Why did this have to be the Capitol's plan for the Third Quarter Quell? I understood now why Katniss and Gale had spoke about the Capitol being unfair and cruel.

I am halfway done with my slice of bread when my mother comes back, "Your clothes are ready Prim."

I nod once and stand up from my chair, leaving the remainder of goat cheese and bread on the table. I enter my bedroom again and see mother has laid my Reaping outfit on Katniss's bed. For some reason this makes a hard lump in my throat but I swallow it. There is a plain white blouse, no buttons or fancy things included. Along with that lays a royal blue skirt with an old black leather belt to go around and gray ballet flats. [ [polyvore] ]

I admire myself in the mirror, thinking I look quite presentable when mother comes behind me, with a small smile on her face however, through her eyes I can see the pain she hides. Her last child is going into the Hunger Games with 23 other children. A fight to the death in which she might not return from.

"Tuck in that tail little duck," She says tucking in the back of my shirt and I stiffen. That was Katniss and I's thing and it didn't feel right coming from her. She must have noticed my discomfort because she immediately stops and lets me do the rest.

"I have a gift for you little Prim," She pulls out a small mockingjay pin, the same pin I gave Katniss exactly and year ago, "I thought you might like it." She pins it onto my shirt and smooths out my dress. I stare at the pin in the mirror, it's dirty and scratched but I still love it nonetheless. It's almost as if I have a piece of Katniss with me.

"I can do your hair if you like," My mother says. She gets to work braiding my hair in a circular pattern around my head while the whole time I'm admiring the mockingjay pin. Silently, I kiss my three fingers and point them to the mirror.

Mother's braiding finally stops and she holds me by my shoulders, "Katniss and your father would be proud."

It's the first time I've heard speak of Katniss or Dad since they died and it catches me off guard at first.

"I miss them." I say quietly. Mom smiles sadly.

"Me too Prim. Me too."

About an hour or so later I have already signed in and I take my place with the other 13 year olds. I don't see why we have to go through this process if we already know whose being Reaped but oh well. Effie Trinket comes onto the stage with her big fake Capital smile and introduces the film about the Dark Ages and why we have the Hunger Games. I take note that there are no balls of names this year, but Effie holds two envelopes instead. After the film is done Effie turns to us all and claps though no one joins in.

"And now to announce our wonderful tributes for our very special Third Quarter Quell." Effie lifts the flap on one of the envelope and reads the name clearly off the small paper for everyone to hear.

"Primrose Everdeen."

It's like Deja vu all over again. I hear people murmur this time.

"She's finally getting hers, no big bad Girl On Fire to volunteer."

"She won' last day one. She's nothin' like 'er sister. Now Katniss, Katniss was a real trooper."

"I bet tis little one is the first one killed in the Bloodbath."

The Games haven't even started and people are already counting me as good as dead. When I reach the stage Effie smiles at me and then goes back to her second envelope.

"Griffin Mellark!"

Griffin Mellark? I look into the the crowd to see a young boy about my age or so. He looked exactly like Peeta but with dark brown hair to match his grayish eyes. I had never knew the Mellark's had another son. Timidly he walked up to the stage and stood in front of me casting his eyes down.

"Go on shake hands you two," Effie urged on. I stared at him and he flicked his eyes up to mine and we shook hands, I had never held a boy's hand before so this was a weird feeling.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Your District Twelve Third Quarter Quell Tributes!"

No one said anything. Did anything, It was completely silent. After it was clear we were getting no reaction we were whisked away into the Justice Building and the big doors shut behind us. Locking us in with the quiet while my mind raced and I couldn't help but puke up my breakfast in a nearby plant.

May The Odds Please Please Be In My Favor. 


End file.
